Lanhydrock to Restormel run

The majority of my working day was spent today at Bodmin so having put my running kit in the car on leaving, I drove down to the nearby Respryn Bridge to run a 5.3 mile circular trail/road route that I'd previously researched on the internet. Managing to avoid a downpour just prior to leaving the car I set off with directions in hand from the iWalkNorthCornwall  website (some details of which I've placed here and further details and pictures also. I would encourage you to look at it). Again this was meant to be a steady run as I get back into trying to be fit again, so I was not perturbed that I would be slower than normal as I ran and read the directions and sometimes stopped to check them. Stopping at the start to take a quick picture of the swollen River Fowey from the Respryn Bridge I then followed the route as described below.

River Fowey from Respryn Bridge

Restormel Manor

On reaching a pedestrian gate on the other side.

Respryn Bridge is a five-arched mediaeval bridge constructed of granite and rubble . The central pointed arch dates from the 15th century; the other arches are more recent. Before this, there was a 13th Century bridge on the site. The place name indicates a ford was here before the bridge, on an ancient trackway between Bodmin and Looe. A chapel was also documented as being located by the river in the 12th Century.

I went through the gate and followed the path along the river until I reached a footbridge.

The River Fowey rises close to Brown Willy on Bodmin Moor and is fed by 7 tributaries along its 25 mile course, many of which also start on Bodmin Moor. The upper reaches run through 2 Sites of Special Scientific Interest and the Fowey valley is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is also used as conduit for the public water system to feed water from the Siblyback and Colliford reservoirs on Bodmin Moor down to Restormel where it enters the water mains. The increased demand for water from summer visitors has the effect of buffering the river levels in the dryer months from the reservoirs. The river has populations of Sea Trout and Salmon as well as Brown Trout which make it popular with fly fishermen.

I crossed the footbridge over the river and turned left to reach the path.

The path went along the river until it eventually forked away to the right and slightly uphill until it reached a red pedestrian gate.

The Lanhydrock estate originally belonged to the Augustinian priory of St Petroc at Bodmin, but the Dissolution of the Monasteries during Tudor times saw it pass into private hands. It was bought in 1620 by wealthy merchant Sir Richard Robartes, who began building the house in 1630 but died only 4 years later. The building was finally completed in 1651 by his son and the estate remained in the Robartes Family until the 20th Century.

The Robartes family declined significantly during the First World War, losing the heir who was killed during the Battle of Loos in France whilst trying to rescue a colleague from no-man's land. The estate passed to his younger brother, Francis, who became 7th Viscount Clifden. In the Second World War, the house was used to accommodate evacuees. After the war, in 1953, the house and approximately 400 acres of parkland were given to the National Trust by the ageing Viscount. On the death of his younger brother Arthur, the barony and viscountcy of Clifden and barony of Robartes became extinct. Only one descendant of the family survives, living in a cottage on the estate.

I went through the gate and followed the path over a stone bridge and turned immediately left through a red gate signposted "Footpath to Restormel Castle".

The Great Wood has been designated as an Important Plant Area by the organisation Plantlife for its ancient woodland and lichens. Trees include beech, oak, sycamore, ash, sweet chestnut, holly and a number of Scots Pine. Since the clearance of an invasive Rhododendron species from Great Wood, fantastic displays of bluebells can be seen in the spring. Lanhydrock is also home to kingfishers, dormice and 12 species of bat.

Running along the very wet  path until I reached another gate. I went through the gate and followed the fence to the gate opposite (again through another very wet field). Going through this gate I followed the track until I reached the main gate of the water works.

From the water works entrance, I followed the lane ahead until I reached a fork at a sharp bend with a no-through road sign. I went through the pedestrian gate on the left of the gate ahead and followed the lane  until I reached some National Trust buildings clearly owned by The National Trust.

To my right slightly, the hill behind the one ahead I could see  the location of a Roman Fort. 

In 2007, the remains of a small Roman fort (known as a fortlet) was discovered upon a promontory overlooking the River Fowey near Restormel. It's likely this was a satellite of the slightly larger fort at Nanstallon, and the two were strategically positioned to cover the Camel and Fowey river trade. Their position also allowed them to cover the main land route, which ran past these two points on the upland ridge along the Cornish peninsula. It's thought that this might have originally been an Iron-Age fort which was then repurposed by the Romans. Finds of pottery suggest it was occupied continuously for most of the Romano-British era (from mid-first to early-fourth centuries). It has been postulated that although it might have started as a military encampment, it may have evolved into a defended settlement towards the end of this period.

Running between the buildings and right again to exit via a gate at the entrance to Restormel Castle.

Restormel Castle is one of the four chief Norman castles in Cornwall and is notable for its perfectly circular design; the 13th century circular shell-keep still encloses the principal rooms of the castle. The mound on which it is built is the site of an earlier castle, probably originally built after the Norman conquest of England in around 1100 as a motte and bailey castle. The castle is strategically positioned, overlooking the primary crossing point over the River Fowey and was located in the middle of a large deer park. The castle had an early form of pressurised tap water, piped into the buildings from a natural spring.

From the Restormel Castle entrance, I continued ahead on the lane to a public footpath sign on the left.

At the footpath sign, I turned turn left into the drive of Restormel Manor and followed the drive to a gate with a public footpath sign on the left. I ran through the gate and turned right and followed the drive  until I reached a gate onto a bridge over the river.

Restormel Manor and the adjoining woods are owned by the Duchy.

For many centuries, it was traditional for landowning families to create trusts from the land and assets so future generations could live off the income, but were unable to dispose of the assets so these would be available for future generations. The Duchy estate is an example of this and was created in 1337 by Edward III to provide his son (and future Princes of Wales) with an income. Consequently, unlike other Royals, the Prince of Wales and his family are not paid for by the taxpayer via the Civil List; instead their living costs and all their charitable activities (such as The Prince's Trust) are funded by income from the Duchy estate.

Only 13% of the Duchy land is in Cornwall; the rest is dotted over 23 other counties including in London, but most is in the South West of England, with nearly half on Dartmoor

I crossed the bridge and followed the track to a railway bridge. On crossing the railway I followed the track until I reached a gate and the junction of several tracks.Passing through the gate ahead I followed the track up the steep hill through a number of hairpin bends until I reached a gate. Passing through the gate I continued to the lane and turned left on the lane and followed it uphill until I reached a junction.

As you approach the junction, there are lovely views across the valley to Restormel Castle.

At the junction, I turned left and stayed on the lane and followed it until it eventually ended at a junction. At the top of the lane I realised my RunKeeper app had for some reason stopped working and had not recorded for a mile or so and therefore had to restart it. The next 1 1/2 miles were downhill on the tarmac lane before arriving at the final junction where I turned left and followed the lane over Respryn Bridge to complete the circuit.

The cottage with the large wayside cross planted in the middle of the front garden is appropriately named Cross Cottage. There are said to be 360 wayside crosses in Cornwall. In the medieval period, stone crosses were sometimes placed by the road or path. There have been various reasons for erecting these: markers placed along routes used by Christian pilgrims, or as a shrine in reverence, perhaps to a saint who has some connection to the locality. Others mark burial sites, a disaster, a miracle, or some other event that should be remembered. In some cases, they were erected to mark meeting places for Christian worship and later churches were built adjacent to the cross, resulting in the cross being within the churchyard or close by.

All in all a pleasant run which next time I do it will not require me to navigate around and should therefore be quicker and hopefully I will be fitter. I was blessed as well not to get a soaking. Indeed, I found it quite mild and didn't really need my coat.